Book excerpt: For many years, Ray Jason has been delighting readers of the sailing magazine Latitude 38, with his Sea Gypsy Vignettes. These hilarious stories chronicle some of the misadventures of today's sailboat cruisers. Now, for the first time ever, some of his best yarns are available in one book. So settle back and sail away with the offbeat characters that roam the pages of Tales of a Sea Gypsy.Relive the terror of getting rammed by a tanker - not just once, but TWICE! Discover the little-known danger of poodles in hurricanes. And ponder how a donkey could possible wander into a sea story. If romance and passion are what lure you to sea, you'll find these pages full of it in some of its most intriguing variations. Meet a couple bonded together by epoxy glue. Enter a disco full of people dancing in their underwear. And encounter lovers who unleash the little-known erotic power of macaroons.These are just a few of the bizarre episodes that make these twenty-two stories so captivating.